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Saturday, 26 April 2014

Australians and
New Zealanders today remembered their servicemen and Indian soldiers who served
their nation in World War-I. At a dawn ceremony here at the historic Delhi War
Cemetery, Australian and New Zealand communities in India paid tribute to war
veterans and those who have laid down their lives in the service of their
nation.

April 25 each year
is termed as Anzac Day. Among those who attended the service included official
representatives from a range of nations and from the three Indian Military
Services. Buglers from the Indian Army played “The Last Post” and “Reveille” at
the service.

“Anzac Day commemorates the
landing of thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops on the shores of
Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, beginning a long hard-fought campaign,” said
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling. — TNS

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140426/main4.htm

Pak troops violate
LoC truce in Poonch

Ravi Krishnan
Khajuria

Tribune News
Service

Jammu, April 25

The Pakistan Army
violated the mutually brokered truce deal by opening heavy fire, including 82
mm mortars, on at least four Indian forward posts in the Shahpur area along the
744 km-long Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district today. The firing was in
retaliation to the Indian Army foiling an intrusion bid by a group of armed
militants.

The Army that
responded in equal measure described the Pakistani action a first “serious”
violation of the ceasefire agreement in the Poonch sector this year.

“The firing started around
9.30 am after we foiled an intrusion attempt by a group of four militants, who
were trying to sneak in. Consequently, the Pakistani Army provided them cover
fire and in the process targeted our forward posts,” said an Army source.

“It was an infiltration bid
that turned into a ceasefire violation as Pakistani troops fired at our posts
drawing us to respond in equal measure,” he added. The Pakistani troops
initially used small arms fire but switched to automatic weapons and 82 mm
mortars. “It was a serious violation as they used 82 mm mortars. But we are
well prepared,” he said. The source said a few days ago, the Army received an
intelligence input about intrusion attempts from the Sawjian and Doda Battalion
area. “The gun-battle lasted over two hours. There were no casualties or
injuries on our side,” the source said.

Jammu-based Defence
spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta said: “The ceasefire violation started around
9.15 am in which the Pakistan Army used small arms and automatic weapons
prompting our troops to use similar-calibre weapons. The firing ceased at 12.30
pm.”

An intelligence source said
Pakistan troops targeted PP 1, Sher Shakti, Jungle 3 and Doda Pir posts of the
Indian Army. These are guarded by 3 Garhwal Rifles in the Shahpur area, also
called the Doda Battalion area.

Pakistan had initially opened
fire from their Mochi Mora and Jora posts, he added. “Pakistan troops used LMG,
MMG and mortars, inviting equal response from the Indian Army,” said the
official. In December, New Delhi and Islamabad had pledged to uphold the 2003
LoC ceasefire agreement, which had been left in tatters after repeated violations
by Pakistan in Poonch sector and then all along the 198 km-long International
Border. The directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of the two
countries had agreed to a number of steps to keep the ceasefire accord intact.
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by de
facto border of LoC.

A statement issued by the
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - Pakistan Army’s official website -
blamed the Indian troops for the latest skirmish.

Didn’t target India posts: Pak

Pakistan on Friday denied its
troops violated the ceasefire by targeting Indian posts in Poonch. Pakistan’s
DGMO telephoned his Indian counterpart in the morning and proposed a
sector-level flag meeting between the two armies.

Major killed in Shopian
gunfight

Two Army men, including a
Major, and two Hizb militants were killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir's
Shopian district on Friday. The officer has been identified as Major Mukund
Vardarajan. P8

Army major killed
in 6-hour-long gun-battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir

An Army Major was
killed today in a six-hour-long gun-battle with three militants in Jammu and
Kashmir's Shopian on Friday.

Two of the
militants have been killed in the encounter, while one still remains holed up
in the house which has been surrounded by security forces.

The three
militants were holed up in a house in Karewa Malino village, 55 km from
Srinagar. The militants were asked to surrender but they resorted to firing,
triggering the gunfight.

"The
operation has been suspended for the night but we are maintaining a tight vigil
over the cordoned area to ensure no one gets away," the officer said.

Shopian is part of
the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency and the encounter took place a day after
militants carried out an attack on a polling party escorted by police and CRPF
in the district at the end of the voting resulting in the death of a polling
official and injuries to five others including three securitymen.

After nearly four
months long lull along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir,
Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing on Shahpur area of Poonch
district on the Indian side this morning.

A Defence Ministry
spokesman here confirmed ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops, saying that
they were using small arms and automatic weapons. The Indian army was also
retaliating with small arms fire, he said, adding that the exchange of fire
between them was continuing.

Meanwhile, sources
said that the trouble started after Pakistan resorted to unprovoked mortarshelling from across the LoC around 9 am. The
Indian army also retaliated and a fierce exchange of fire between them was in
progress.

The latest
incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the area came after nearly four
months as there had been calm along the LoC since January 29 last when they had
resorted to unprovoked firing in Balakote sector on the Indian side.

Only in December
last, the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both India and
Pakistan had met after nearly 13 years at Wagah near Amritsar and decided to
uphold the 2003 ceasefire agreement between them. During the meeting which
lasted for nearly half an hour, the Indian side accused Pakistan of violating
ceasefire agreement for over 250 times during 2013 alone.

However, both
sides finally decided to strengthen the existing border mechanisms and hold
flag meetings between brigade commanders along the LoC in Poonch and Uri
sectors so as to defuse situation whenever there is escalation between the two
sides in future. But nearly a month after that meeting, the Pakistani troops
resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC in Uri sector on January 26 and in
Balakote sector of Poonch on January 29 this year.

US military
suicides fall 15% but army national guard and reservists a concern

Suicides across
the US military dropped by more than 15% last year, but new detailed data
reveals an increase in the number of army national guard and reserve soldiers
who took their own lives.

The overall totals
provided by the army, navy, air force and marine corps give some hope that
prevention programmes and increased efforts to identify troops at risk may be
taking hold after several years of escalating suicides. But the increase among
army national guard and reserve members raises questions about whether those
programmes are getting to the citizen soldiers who may not have the same access
to support networks and help that their active duty comrades receive.

Not only did the
army national guard and reserve suicides increase from 140 in 2012 to 152 last
year, but the 2013 total exceeded the number of active duty soldiers who took
their own lives, according to the army. There were 151 active duty soldier
suicides last year, compared with 185 in 2012, army officials said.

The Pentagon plans
to release a report on Friday on military suicides. But the numbers in that
report differ slightly from the totals provided by the services because of
complicated accounting changes in how the department counts suicides by
reservists. Some of the Pentagon numbers were finalised a year ago, while the
services have more recently updated totals that reflect the results of some
death investigations.

According to the
four military services, there were 289 suicides among active duty troops in
2013, down from 343 in 2012. The vast majority were in the army, the nation's
largest military service. The navy saw a 25% decline, from 59 in 2012 to 44 in
2013. The marines went from 48 to 45, while the air force went from 51 to 49.

Due to the
accounting changes and other updates, the Pentagon numbers are generally a
little lower and reflect a larger decline in overall active duty suicides of
about 18% from 2012 to 2013. In some cases, the services count guard and
reserve members who have been called to active duty as part of the active duty
total, while the Pentagon did not.

Both sets of numbers,
however, show the same trends: fewer active duty suicides across all four
services and slightly more deaths among the army national guard and reserve.

Military leaders
say it is too soon to declare success in the battle against suicides, but they say
that some programmes appear to be working.

"I think
we've changed the cultural mindset – that it's OK for a sailor or a soldier or
an airman or marine to come forward and ask for help," said Rear Admiral
Sean Buck, the navy's officer in charge of suicide prevention and resilience
programmes. "We're trying to reduce the stigma that used to exist."

Buck said the navy
has focused on providing more programmes designed to reduce stress, including
teaching sailors coping mechanisms and stress management tools.

As an example, he
said navy leaders noticed a spike in suicides by medical specialists, including
doctors and nurses, reaching a total of 22 for 2011 and 2012 combined. The navy
surgeon general started a programme that found that there seemed to be a lot of
transitions during that time involving the sailors' jobs or base locations.

Buck said that due
to the frequent moves, sailors could sometimes find themselves unconnected to
their family or unit or higher command. "In many instances, if you find
yourself in time of need and you're not in a permanent command, you may not
know who to turn to," he said.

In response, navy
leaders were told to reach out and communicate with their medical specialists
on a daily basis, checking with them to see how they were doing and if there
were any problems. Last year, Buck said, there was a sharp decline in suicides
among the medical community, with six in 2013.

Lack of consistent
contact with leaders or units could also be a factor for reservists.

Scattered across
the United States, often in small or remote rural communities, many members of
the army national guard and reserve report for training about one weekend a
month and two weeks in the summer. And they often do not have quick access to
military medical or mental health services that may be on bases far from their
homes. That means the outreach effort by the armed services to address the
increase in suicides may not always get to reservists in need – particularly
those who do not actively seek help.

According to the
army data, more than half of the reservists who committed suicide in 2012 and
2013 had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials, however, have not been able
to establish a strong link between military service on the warfront and
suicide.

Army spokeswoman
Lieutenant Colonel Sunset Belinsky said the army set up several programmes to
deal with the problem, including a 24-hour suicide prevention phone line. The
army reserve set up six Army Strong community centres in New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Connecticut and Michigan.

Swamy protests
against new Army Chief's appointment, writes letter to President

New Delhi: Seeking
stay on the appointment of a new Army chief, senior BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy on Friday wrote a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Swamy said the
timing of the appointment of new Army Chief will demoralise forces.

In a letter to the
President, he said, "The timing of this proposed announcement will, inter
alia, ensure that the COAS office is politicised and the armed forces
demoralised."

Swamy said,
"The present government's endeavour to announce the next COAS is in direct
contravention to the established convention, both in terms of timeframe and
also with regards to certain ongoing investigations that are currently before
the judicial system."

The opposition BJP
has said the outgoing government should not appoint the new Army Chief and
should leave it to the next government that is expected to take over towards
the end of next month. The party has even petitioned the Election Commission to
halt the process.

Notwithstanding
objections by the BJP, the Defence Ministry is going ahead with the process of
appointing the new Army Chief and has recommended the name of Vice Chief of
Army Staff Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag to the Prime Minister's Office.

The recommendation
of the Defence Ministry will have to be approved by the Appointments Committee
of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, official sources said.

As per tradition,
the government announces the name of services chiefs-designate two months
before the retirement of the incumbent.

Sticking to that,
it is expected to announce the name of the new Army chief by May 01, three
months prior to the date of retirement of Gen Bikram Singh.

The appointment of
incumbent Chief Gen Singh was also done three months prior to the retirement of
his predecessor Gen VK Singh, who had a turbulent relationship with the Defence
Ministry and even dragged the government to the Supreme Court over his age
controversy.

General (retd) VK
Singh, who is now a BJP member and contesting for Lok Sabha from Ghaziabad
constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has said the UPA government "should not be
in a hurry" to appoint the new Army Chief.

"I don't
understand why the UPA is in a hurry to make the present chief ineffective by
announcing his successor's name," he has said.

Significantly,
during the last days of his tenure as Army Chief, VK Singh had put a
'discipline and vigilance ban' on Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag, then 3 Corps Commander,
for the "failure of command and control" as an intelligence unit
under him had allegedly carried out dacoity in Jorhat in Assam outside the
jurisdiction of the Corps.

The ban was lifted
soon after Bikram Singh took over as Army chief and appointed Suhag as the
Eastern Army Commander.

General Bikram
Singh will retire on July 31 after completing a 26-month tenure in office.